Friday, December 30, 2005

Hope and Pray to the football gods. That is all the Cowboys can do now. They can hope and pray that one of the games that require the proper result go down as they need. They put themselves in this unenviable position, and now, there is not a darn thing they can do about their playoff fate. Until 7:30 Sunday Night. Then, they may either play their biggest game of the season, or their most irrelevant game of the season, based on the results of earlier in the afternoon.

Here are, of course, the games that really matter prior to 7:30 pm Sunday:

Carolina at Atlanta, 12pm, Channel 4 …This is the best chance for the Cowboys. Atlanta is good enough to beat Carolina, and does not care for them, either. I think if it happens, it will be thanks to the Falcons.

While the Panthers can clinch a playoff berth with a win, their team mindset is a huge question mark heading into this game. Between the disappointment of Week 16's 24-20 home loss to the Dallas Cowboys and their struggles at the Georgia Dome -- where they are 1-9 -- the Panthers are a team looking for any positives to carry them into this game.

Gibbs now can close the second season of his second tenure with the Redskins by clinching a playoff berth, and maybe a division title, if they can defeat the Philadelphia Eagles.

The only time Washington has been to the postseason since Gibbs left after the 1992 season, concluding a 12-year reign that included four trips to the Super Bowl, came in 1999 under Norv Turner. That also was the last time the team had a winning season, until Gibbs clinched one last week as the Redskins ran their winning streak to four games to keep their playoff hopes very much alive.

A win gives Washington a postseason berth, and could mean an NFC East title if the New York Giants lose Saturday night to Oakland. If the Redskins lose, they likely will head for their televisions because they would still make the playoffs if Dallas loses to St. Louis in the Sunday night game.

No matter how it all turns out, the 2005 NFL playoff field will be an impressive one indeed:

• All 12 teams could have at least 10 wins apiece -- the third time this has happened (2000, 2003) since the NFL went to the 12-team playoff system in 1990. Looked at in another way, there could be three teams with 10 wins who do not make the playoffs -- equaling the entire total of such teams since 1990 (Philadelphia and San Francisco in 1991; Miami in 2003).

• For the second time in the past three seasons (2003), the NFL could boast six 12-win teams -- the most in a season in history.

• Of the 14 clubs either in the playoffs or seeking playoff berths, nine did not make the postseason last year.

• For the fourth time since 2000, two teams -- Chicago and Tampa Bay -- can go from "worst to first" in their divisions, finishing last a year ago and first in 2005.

The first two suggest the league is as tough as it ever was, and then the second two suggest it is a parity ruined league. Which do you like to believe?

"This is it. I won't go to another team," the 33-year-old Bledsoe said. "I can say that with 100 percent, no-doubt-about-it certainty."

For the first time since 2000, the Cowboys have a no-doubt-about-it certainty they have a legitimate, playmaking quarterback.

No Cowboy needed this season as much as Bledsoe, and no one on the team needs Sunday's events to fall just right to make the playoffs to formally dispel the notion that he was the second coming of Vinny Testaverde.

"If we don't get into the playoffs," Bledsoe said, "it will be a huge disappointment."

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Old time hockey when Dallas and St Louis squared off. Guerin was dominant for one of those rare occasions in 2005-06, but we all know what he is capable of (if you are not, click here). Then, some spillover from Monday night, as the Blues and Stars played the fued with 4 fights in 49 seconds. Wonderful stuff. Oh yeah, Stars 3, Blues 0 …

Ryan Johnson, hardly a brawler, checked Mike Modano hard midway through the period.Steve Ott stood up for the Stars' best player a couple of minutes later, pummeling Johnson with hard rights. Three more pairings quickly followed.

The last time the Stars had four fights in a period was Feb. 15, 1999, against Edmonton.

"I know fighting is down in the league, but I think after tonight we brought it back again," Ott said.

Thursday, December 29, 2005

The last time the Cowboys won the pregame coin toss was also the last time they were the first team to score. That was Nov. 20 against the Lions.

Since then, the Cowboys have not scored first in a game and have been outscored 31-14 in the first quarter. Falling behind has put more pressure on an offense not designed to play catch-up and allows little margin for error on defense.

"The easy thing to do is to keep playing because that's all I know," Favre said. "But as easy as that decision is, it could be the wrong one. Because maybe I, in the process, continue to play, but maybe I'm just not as productive as I once was, or maybe I'm not the type of player they need now.

"Maybe they want to go in a different direction and they don't know how to tell Brett Favre, 'We want to go in a different direction.' "

Asked if he was aware this could be his last game, Favre said, "Absolutely. I'm well aware of that."

"I wish I could have turned in the vial for testing," Palmeiro said of the vial he used, "but when I found out, it was long gone and I couldn't come up with it. If something happened that I'm not aware of, an intentional act by someone else, I don't know. I can't rule out anything."

But he added: "I'm going to take the responsibility, me being careless and taking something I wasn't knowing if it was clean, having full trust in what I was getting. It was careless, stupid, naïve of me to think it was safe."

Liverpool win 9th straight …beat Everton, meanwhile, ManU drop points to Birmingham with a 2-2 tie. The holidays are great if you follow the Premiership…

Flavor Flav welcomes 20 women to his macadocious mansion with the hope of finding the next great love of his life. To start things off he gives the girls nicknames (he'd never be able to remember their real ones) and then throws a get-to-know-ya mixer in the backyard by the pool. But this isn't your ordinary bachelor! Catty posturing and half naked swimming lead up to the first elimination ceremony. As the ceremony commences, one of the girls is absent only to be found face down on the living room couch...vomiting. Five girls are going home, will the puker be eliminated?

And now, email:

Guerin Theory:

As I drove home from the Stars/Wings game last night listening to your post game show, a thought hit me.

You were mentioning that players have bad seasons, then rebound. You referenced Modano's bad 02-03 season, and his subsequent rebound. There is a difference in Modanos comeback, and the potential for Guerin to rebound from this slump he has hit. Coming into this season, we knew the new rule changes were suited to Modano's talents. It is the compete opposite for Guerin, I think the new rule changes are the complete opposite for Guerin's style of play. At the start of the season his penalty minutes are ahead of where they normally would be, this has affected his mind more than anything else. However much you think the problem is in his head, they bottom line is that he has not yet found a way to make his game adjust to the new NHL. When he plays the way he knows, he is penalized. He needs to adjust.

Just a thought,Aaron Winkler

It sounds like a good theory. All I know is that Guerin better get going soon, or he will surely be bought out this summer. They have to figure out how to keep Jason Arnott this summer, and I fear it will come at Guerin’s expense. Also, don’t forget a certain goalie is free this summer, too. And Turco won’t be cheap. His issue is convincing those who decide such things that he can win a playoff game/series…

Bob,

Here's a stat for you.

Since Pete Carroll arrived at USC, the Trojans are ... 56-9. Over that same period Texas is 55-8. Obviously USC has 2 MNC to show for that and Texas doesn't, but found that interesting and thought might be of use to you.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Last night, it happened again. Those Red Wings rolled in, their fans took as many seats as they wanted, and Detroit took two more points out of North Texas.

The Lockout made me forget how much Detroit fans annoyed me. Unlike Eagles fans that annoy me, I will be the first to admit that Detroit fans annoy me partially because I am jealous. Jealous of their following (albeit a bandwagon at times), jealous of their ability to continue to find European studs deep, deep in the draft, and of course, jealous that the team to beat year after year resides in Detroit.

I find their fans and media to be know-it-alls, their marketing department pompous, and most of all, their continuous success in Dallas to be maddening. And yet, it keeps rolling on.

On the ice, the Stars did everything early they could to beat Chris Osgood. Then, when Detroit so easily took a 3-1 in the third, the Stars looked resigned to another defeat. Very little determination in the home team when the going got tough last night, and that was disappointing. They are now only 4-4 in their last 8, and are beginning to look a little frustrated in their home form.

The Stars' resurgence in the Western Conference this season has only underscored the need to compete with the Red Wings. The Stars are 0-4-5 in the last nine meetings. The last time the Stars beat the Red Wings was Jan. 16, 2002, in the final days of Ken Hitchcock's regime. The names have changed; the styles haven't.

Over the last few days, I have received plenty of emails. Actually, since we started vacation, I am up around 500+ emails that are not considered “junk/spam” and therefore generally require something of a response. But, given that at least 100 of them revolve around Cowboys-Redskins and another 100 about how there is no way that Tom Hicks will seriously bid on Kevin Millwood, I thought I would delete those, and move forward. Cool? I thought so.

Incidentally, there really should be some sort of vacation email policy, don’t you think? I realize I have a great job, but do I really need 500 sports emails waiting for me when I return for work again? Do the math. At only 2 minutes an email to read and respond to each one, and I need to find 16+ hours to get caught up. I know life isn’t fair, but I really should get caught up by punching a big delete button.

Anyway, on to the email topics that are more recent. Many are revolving around my thoughts on trading Chris Young away and my thoughts on why the Rangers paid $60 million for a guy with just 9 wins last season in Kevin Millwood.

First, Chris Young thoughts:

I really like the young lad, but there were some things to consider about Young that I don’t think is being said very much. Everyone likes the personable Young, but Jon Daniels did need to make a decision based on what he saw in 2005 and what he thought would happen in 2006 and beyond. I figure Daniels looked at 3 things:

1) Young’s run support was 7.32, the 2nd highest in all of baseball. Run support is random as it relates to a starting pitcher. Especially in the AL, where pitchers do not bat, it is like the lottery and can swing wildly from year to year. Just because his win total was higher than expected in 2005, does not mean that will continue if the fortuitous run support does not also continue.

3) Young’s pitches per inning were a strong concern. He throws a ton of pitches to record outs, and although that causes strikeouts, it also causes him to fatigue earlier in a game, which then causes your bullpen to work harder.

I know stats can be deceiving, but I wondered about Young’s topside. I think going to San Diego will do wonders for his career, but I really think 2005 was a bit of a mirage over what he might have done over the next 4 or 5 years in Arlington.

But, I am in the minority. Here is a response from Jared in Irving:

Sturm,

I need to take serious issue with the way you’re evaluating this Adam Eaton signing. You keep saying we didn’t give up any of our valuable prospects.

Well I contend Chris Young is every bit as valuable as any of the DVD. However, had Diamond been included in this deal rather than Young, people would be howling about how we were robbed.

The sad reality, however, is that we will be extremely fortunate if even two of the DVD ever turn in even one season on par with what Young did last year. That’s a fact.

We had Chris Young locked up through 2010, making next to nothing. Hicks’ sudden willingness to spend not-withstanding, Chris Young epitomized everything the Rangers were trying to do as an organization in regards to pitching.

Now, on to how you compared Young and Eaton. You kept using run support to say Young was not all that great. Well run support only matters if you’re silly enough to use wins to evaluate a pitcher. Check out their career ERA’s, because they’re identical. Literally. Check out Eaton’s road ERA from last year, a whopping 5.09, and that’s in the National League. Oh, and Eaton only average about 2/3’s of an inning more per start than Chris Young, so your statement about him not getting late into games doesn’t carry any water either.

The fact of the matter is, Chris Young was flat out better than Adam Eaton across the board last year, and it was Young’s first full year as a pro. With the change in leagues and parks, Young’s ERA will go down, and Eaton’s will balloon.

All that, and we haven’t even gotten to the fact that after this year, it will cost 8-9 mil/year to keep Adam Eaton, while Chris Young is making $600,000 with the Padres. Taking that into account, Eaton could win the freaking Cy Young this year, and if we don’t make the playoffs, and he isn’t resigned, it’s a horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE trade.

Jared in Irving

I would just say this to Jared, who made some great points; the object of the game is to buy low and sell high. I think in this trade, they did both potentially. But, only time will tell who is right.

Now, on to Millwood. I am bothered by his injury history for sure. It should be noted that only 12 months ago, his offers were for 1 year because of his history in Philadelphia that included some issues with his elbow. Beyond this, he appears to have the numbers that fit the description of the perfect Arlington pitcher.

- He gets ground balls (see above)- He throws few pitches per inning to record his outs- He has proven to be a work horse over his career- His 9 wins in 05’ is very deceiving, in that his run support was incredibly low. 3.9 rins per start is all that Cleveland provided him (remember Chris Young had 7.3). If both pitchers meet in the middle, Millwood likely adds 5-6 wins, and Young subtracts the same.

I think the Rangers overpaid, but only in the way they would have to for anyone they wanted this badly. If they want a pitcher, they must overpay. They did, and I think they were wise to do so.

"I'm ready to go," Hicks said. "I think we've really improved the team. I like our defense better up the middle, I like the outfield a lot better and I like our pitching."

Hicks, and others from the Rangers organization, wouldn't comment on Kevin Millwood, the free-agent right-hander who has agreed to a five-year contract with the team worth about $11 million to $12 million per season, because the deal isn't finalized. But the owner couldn't hide his excitement about a revamped rotation that will probably include Millwood as of Thursday, when the team has scheduled a 9:30 a.m. news conference to introduce him.

None of the five pitchers expected to make up Texas' 2006 rotation were in the rotation when the 2005 season began. Gone are Ryan Drese, Kenny Rogers, Chris Young, Chan Ho Park and Pedro Astacio. Expected to take the mound in a few months are Millwood, Adam Eaton, Vicente Padilla and probably Juan Dominguez and Kameron Loe. Edison Volquez and R.A. Dickey may get a chance to compete for spots.

Starting next week, the company that measures what people watch on television will also follow what they record on DVRs to watch later.

The move by Nielsen Media Research is a reflection of how the traditional notion of watching TV is changing. And if Nielsen's numbers show that new technology is also changing what people are watching, it has the potential to profoundly disrupt a multibillion-dollar business.

An estimated 7 percent of the nation's 110 million homes with televisions now have digital video recorders, and that's expected to rise to one quarter of the TV population by sometime in 2007, Nielsen said.

I get this question all the time. “Hey Bob, who are the free agents this off-season in football? Here is the list ….

Houston is traveling to San Francisco this weekend for a matchup that has long been billed as the Reggie Bush Bowl, because it may very well determine who gets Bush, the junior tailback and Heisman Trophy winner from U.S.C. The title of the game is a bit presumptuous, considering Bush has not made himself eligible yet for the draft, but his specter alone is creating the most unlikely showdown imaginable.

If the Texans fall to the 49ers (3-12), they will finish with the worst record in the league and pick first in the draft, a reward potentially more meaningful than any wild-card game. But if they emerge victorious in San Francisco - a notion so terrifying it is barely mentioned in Houston sports bars - the Texans could end up in a complex tie breaker with as many as four other teams, including the 49ers.

At this time every year, fans in forgotten football cities begin to take solace in their lofty draft position. In Houston, fans have been taking solace for about two months. That is partly because the Texans kicked off their schedule with a six-game losing streak. And it is partly because Bush is so clearly the most compelling player available.

For much of the country, Bush's broken-field runs this season have been a source of entertainment. For Houston, they have been a source of hope. When the Texans were 1-12, Bush was practically penciled into their future backfield. Opposing teams would score touchdowns at Reliant Stadium and the chants would begin: "Reg-gie, Reg-gie."

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

If I am going to carry the "Tom Hicks is not interested in winning anymore" torch, then I have to step up and offer my sincere congratulations to him when he appears to change his position. And this appears to be heavy evidence in that direction. With the signing of Millwood, the Rangers appear to have addressed major needs and in doing so, raised their player payroll to somewhere in the mid-70 million range. That is certainly not breaking the bank, but it is acceptable.

Meanwhile, it is not just spending the money, but spending the money well. Millwood seems to qualify on that front for sure. Now the Rangers have a chance to compete. I am officially excited.

At 31, Millwood qualifies as an ace in a 14-team league. He may not be the Angels' Bartolo Colon or even Chicago's Mark Buehrle. But Millwood is a pitcher that manager Buck Showalter can send to the mound on opening day, and he won't have to be faking it.

"Of all the pitchers we faced last year," Rangers All-Star Mark Teixeira said, "he was one of the top two or three as far as stuff and velocity. This makes our whole staff better."

Until a week ago, Chris Young was the Rangers' opening day starter. He went to San Diego in a deal for Adam Eaton that was questioned in this space primarily because it seemed the Rangers weren't getting anything for hitting prospect Adrian Gonzalez.

But Eaton has been better than Young, and now Eaton is a No. 2 behind Millwood. Former Phillie Vicente Padilla is No. 3 while prospects Kameron Loe and Juan Dominguez lead the charge for the back of the rotation.

Without having sacrificed too much offense, the Rangers have upgraded their pitching to something truly viable. The Angels and A's don't have to run scared at this point, but they can't laugh their way into the batter's box anymore, either.

Mike Hindman, of Newbergreport.com, had this offering this morning:

Aside from assembling what has an outstanding chance to become the best rotation this organization has seen in! more than a decade, Jon Daniels has done something else just as important: he's probably won back, for the organization, respect from it's nucleus of star hitters.

Mark Teixeira told the DMN's Tim Cowlishaw "We've got some veterans now that give us a chance. And they haven't had to give up any of their studs in the minors, so there's always the chance to do more. You've got to feel a lot better about this off-season."

I have to admit that just as much as I am happy to see Teixeira happy after witnessing his summer of discontent, I am marginally concerned by his choice of the words "they" and "their" with respect to the club's top minor league prospects. I hope that it was just a random choice of words and not meaningful on some conscious or sub-conscious level.

But his point is well taken: Somehow, Daniels! has completely reconstructed his rotation without using his most coveted trade chips, including big leaguers who have long been rumored to be necessary sacrifices to rebuild it. The Rangers emerge from this whirlwind of activity with not only Thomas Diamond, John Danks, Edison Volquez Joaquin Arias, Ian Kinsler, Jason Botts, Eric Hurley, etc. in the fold, but Kevin Mench, Laynce Nix, Juan Dominguez and (incredibly) Gerald Laird as well. For Daniels to have added three veteran starters and a setup guy and still be holding all of those cards is, quite frankly, astonishing.

Reardon, 50, walked into Hamilton Jewelers at the Gardens Mall about 11:50 a.m. Monday and handed an employee a note that said he had a gun and the store was being robbed, according to the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department.

Reardon fled the store with an undisclosed amount of cash. Police found him at a nearby restaurant, recovered the stolen money and charged him with armed robbery.

I swear I think this is made up…The Terminator made 2.5 and 2.6 million in 1991 and 1992 in Boston, back when that was a ton of money. Apparently, he has spent it all…

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Aside from Kobe scoring 62, the Mavericks have been in fine form. Last night, they pounded the Pacers and keep rolling along. They really, really looked good at Seattle in the late stages Friday night, and then Indiana offered no resistance at all…

I think I am a relatively good human being. And it is the holidays. So, why then, do I feel great joy when I read the Cowboys cut Billy Cundiff? …Because he is a SPARE! Boy, the Cowboys may need to invest in a kicker one of these days…

Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe receives a $250,000 bonus should Dallas advance to the postseason. Cowboys cornerback Aaron Glenn has a similar incentive, getting a $117,500 bonus for a playoff spot.

And wide receiver Terry Glenn has already cashed in. By catching four passes for 88 yards in the win over Carolina, Glenn now has 60 receptions -- good for a $75,000 bonus on top of the $150,000 bonus the wide receiver achieved for his 1,000-yard receiving season. His fourth catch, the game-winning touchdown, turned out to be the money ball -- the $75,000 catch.

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The Stars, who have not played well the last two weeks, dominate the Blues in St Louis, 6-1. Also, reports are that Trevor Daley was not hurt too badly on that hit last night from Mike Sillinger. Detroit is in town tonight. Nice…

---Boxing Day brought the return of Michael Owen to Anfield. In case you are not aware, Owen is one of the greatest goal scorers in futbol the last decade, and left Liverpool a year ago for Real Madrid. A few months ago, he returned to England, but signed at Newcastle, despite a flirtation with Liverpool. Well, he was back Monday, but never did anything, and my boys rolled: Liverpool 2, Newcastle 0 …Wow. We ain’t catching Chelsea, but otherwise, Liverpool fears no one…

I want to make triple sure that I thank that big loveable lummox, Ty Walker, for his fine work on the blog. I was in no position to blog in the land of “dial-up”, and it appears that Claudia was given a chance to gain more fans as well. Good job, Ty.

We have a million things to talk about, but not today. Today is catch-up day, and I am watching the Cowboys game this morning. We fill in for the Hardline all week, so we shall talk from 3-7 today…

In a game that the Sturminator saw in person while wearing his Speedo made of cheese, the Packers lose to the hated Bears...first time Green Bay swept by Chicago since '91. Sorry about that, Bob. ---------------------------------------------------------------

"Playoffs?"

The evil media does it again, this time ticking off Falcons head coach Jim Mora. It's always our fault isn't it? -----------------------------------------------------Good Christmas Day NBA action (especially if you're a Mavs fan and/or a Kobe hater)

Friday, December 23, 2005

It's amazing how quickly things can be put back into perspective. Just last Sunday, the biggest concern on the mind of Colts coach Tony Dungy was how his team was going to respond after their first loss of the season. 4 days later, football is just an afterthought after Dungy's 18 year old son James dies from an apparent suicide.

I don't have kids yet, but I do have two young nephews that I love dearly and would be heartbroken if something happened to either of them. I can only imagine the pain Tony Dungy is feeling after losing a son that he has bonded with for 18 years.

Jets wideout Wayne Chrebet hanging the cleats up after 11 seasons (and 9 concussions). I liked him because he pissed off Keyshawn Johnson when they were teammates. Anyone who could rub that jackass the wrong way is alright by me.

In a deal that reeks of desperation, the Rangers ship Chris Young, Adrian Gonzalez and Termell Sledge to San Diego in exchange for starter Adam Eaton, reliever Akinori Otsuka and minor league catching prospect Billy Killian.

Give Texas GM Jon Daniels some credit. The guy's actually working to make some deals, rather than spend the offseason on the golf course like John Hart did. This is a trade, though, that I'm not real sure about at this point. With Young now gone from the rotation, isn't that just another pitching problem that needs to be addressed? Add to that the fact that Eaton was hampered due to injury last season and this deal might make Rangers fans a little antsy.

No booze will be sold at Monday night's game between the Patriots and Jets at the Meadowlands in an effort to cut down on rowdy behavior. Good idea in principle...unfortunately there are a lot of sober idiots too.---------------------------------------------------------------

Monday, December 19, 2005

When he faced the press Monday, the Giant Enormous Tuna still had no answers as to why his team imploded against the Redskins. For that matter, do we really ever get any real information out of him? Most of the time the assembled media at Bill's press conferences are too scared or too worried about being his buddy to ask him anything that might get something of substance. (See Jean Jacques Taylor, Clarence Hill, Jennifer Engel or any of the other butt-kissers roaming around Valley Ranch.) I know Bill's normally gonna blow the tough questions off, but don't you have to at least ask them occasionally?--------Voting for the Pro Bowl is done. Two Cowboys among the top vote getters in the NFC. Now Roy Williams I understand, but Larry Allen??? I guess he's been okay this season, but I'm not sure about another trip to Hawaii. Also, rookie DE Demarcus Ware among the top vote-getters for first year players. The full NFC/AFC rosters will be announced Wednesday.----------------------------------------------------------Good news and bad news for the Stars Tuesday:The good news: Modano and Guerin will be on Team USA in Italy in February...

Should I really get excited to hear that free agent pitcher Kevin Millwood says he will meet with the Rangers? What I'll be more interested to see is how Jon Daniels spins it when Millwood goes to another team.---------------------------------------------------

(Cue sad piano music) In what could be his final appearance on Monday Night Football, Brett Favre and the Pack get 48 pointshung on them by the Baltimore Ravens (the team that had the lowest scoring avg -13.2 a game- coming into the contest.) Sorry Bob...

More painful for Bob: getting the tat or watching the Pack Monday Night?

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"I appreciate ya, Jermaine...I really do."

Seems Ron Artest has apparently had a change of heart and wants to stay in Indiana with the Pacers. Please, please, please whoever is running the show up there do NOT let him back. This, combined with the Terrell Owens ruling, would be just another great way to remind athletes that there are consequences for their actions and the statements they make to the media.-------------------------------------------------

Just one of many designs to choose from...Wanted to make you P-1's aware of my website where I've put some designs together on shirts, caps, mugs, etc featuring some Ticket schtick and other stuff. The website is www.cafepress.com/happyfunstuff. Check it out...if you like something, please buy one (or 12). I appreciate ya pal...

Sunday, December 18, 2005

An arse-kicking of biblical proportions handed to your Dallas Cowboys in the form of a 35-7 beating by those hated Washington Redskins, who are loving life right now.

NFL.com's Vic Carucci's take on Sunday's blowout:

The outcome might actually raise more questions than they answer about both teams. Are the Redskins truly as good as their three-game winning streak indicates? Maybe so. The most impressive part about what they've done through that stretch is win two games with power running and the third with plays from the passing arm of Mark Brunell, who threw four touchdown passes. But are they as good as they performed against the Cowboys … or are the Cowboys that bad? One week after an impressive effort to rally to victory against Kansas City, the Cowboys had nothing left for Washington. Gregg Williams, the Redskins defensive coordinator, was ready with a scheme to baffle Drew Bledsoe, his former quarterback in Buffalo. Bledsoe wound up throwing three interceptions, losing a fumble and being sacked seven times (four by Phillip Daniels).

You're 13-1...lighten upThe Reggie Bush sweepstakes tightens up as the Houston Texans beat Arizona for their second win of the year. ( Mark your calendars now: Houston at San Francisco in the final week of the season...possibly the worst game of the year should actually have something riding on it.)

A fitting end to a wonderful week for the Minnesota Vikings, as their 6-game winning streak is stopped by the Steelers, 18-3.Cincinnati clinches AFC North with a convincing win over the hapless Lions, 41-17...

...and Detroit fans are venting their frustrations on their meathead president Matt Millen. Definitely a more creative approach that the standard paper bag on the head.---------------------------------------------------------------------

Mavs beat Minnesota Sunday, finish 5-game homestand with 4-wins......but Skins fan/Mav reserve Darrell Armstrong a little lighter in the wallet in the process. (I thought it was a funny bit, but apparently the Little General did not.)--------------------------------------------------------------

Another good night on the road for the Stars, who hold off Chicago 5-3...---------------------------------------------------------------

King Kong tops the movie charts, but not nearly the opening weekend that you would expect for a so-called holiday blockbuster. The previews look pretty cool, but I'm still not sold on spending 3 hours in a theater watching Jack Black chase around a monkey.Here's something to kill some time rather than focus on your job or family: send yourself an e-mail in the future. Better yet, send Dan McDowell an e-mail and remind him 10 years from now that he is still gay.------------------------------------------------------------Okay, this is day 1 of my fill-in duty for Bob while he enjoys his vacation in Wisconsinin. (Personally, I think the Sturminator asked me to do it so you will truly know just how good you have it when he is posting.) I will try my best not to run too many of you off over the next week. Baby arm...